Shepherd
by Captain Wee
Summary: The people of this world are lost and scared. The tragedies of the past weigh heavy on their souls. Will a shepherd rise to lead this flock to the Promised Land?


Shepherd

By Captain Wee

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and its characters are owned by Square-Enix. I own the game.

* * *

"Okay, you just tighten that bolt on the right and we should be done."

The young man underneath the contraption obliged and gave a few quick turns with his wrench. He slid out from under the machine with a confident flair, his smile was accentuated by the oil and grime around his face.

"Alright, everything should be in working order."

His companion nodded and flicked a switch near the wall. The device hummed to life and lights began flare up, like brilliant stars. The room was illuminated in cosmic radiance. However, as soon as they came to life, they faded away, and the machine's whirring died with a splutter. Soon it stopped completely, leaving the young man with a shocked look on his face.

"What happened? I did everything you told me to!"

"I know. Something else is amiss."

His friend walked over to the machine, crouched down and looked underneath it.

"Don't bother. I told you, I already did everything I could," the dirty-faced youth said. His friend ignored him and continued searching the underbelly, trying to find out what went wrong. After some time, he crawled out and shook his head. "Well, I found the problem. One of the relays is broken and we're going to have to replace it."

The youth cocked his eye. "That's a really weird problem. How did you find that?"

"Patience. Although I only have one eye, I have the wisdom to properly use it," he said with a grin.

The young man rolled his eyes. "Whatever Nanaki, I'm still taller than you."

In response to that, the four-legged creature reared back on his hind legs, increasing his height and leaving him slightly taller than his human friend.

The boy looked away and pouted. "Look, if we're done here, I'm going to leave. I have a date tonight."

Nanaki fell forward, reassuming his four-legged stance. "Yes Henry, we're done. Not much else to do except order a new relay. Thank you for your help."

Henry nodded and proceeded to wash up while Nanaki checked over the blueprints again. He barely understood the mechanics of the planet-machine that his grandfather built. Bugenhagen had been extraordinarily gifted in his understanding of technology and nature and it showed in the sheer complexity of a machine able to mimic and predict natural occurrences and phenomena. _Grandfather, if only I had paid a little more attention to your lectures…_

"Hey."

Nanaki lifted his head up from the papers. "Yes Henry?"

The young man was at the entrance, the door half open. "Um, sorry about being cocky earlier."

The red creature returned to his papers. "Don't worry about it. I'll call you when the relay comes in, ok?"

"Sure thing." Henry turned and exited, carefully closing the door as he left the observatory.

_Looks like the boy's learning some manners. More than I can say for myself; I've been studying Grandfather's books for days and I still can't grasp his theories._

Nanaki yawned and lay down, the cool floor soothing his soft belly. He started flicking his tail around lazily. _Perhaps I should ask Cid for some assistance. He has a gift for engineering; maybe he can tutor me on the subject. _He grinned at the thought and imagined Cid with a mortarboard lecturing and cursing out students. Reluctantly, he picked himself up off the cold tile and walked over to a phone near the wall. He nudged the speaker button and proceeded to dial with his nose. After two rings, a female voice answered.

"Hello, this is the World Regenesis Organization Aviation Department, how may I help you?"

"Yes, I'd like to speak to the director."

"Sorry sir, the director is unavailable at the moment, but can I put you in touch with one of the assistant directors?"

"Tell him Red needs his help." Nanaki replied politely.

"Of course sir. I'll tell him right away." The female voice sounded slightly apologetic.

The voice was then replaced by a droll and uninspiring wait tune. The room was filled with sound of trumpets belting out sorrowful and romantic melodies, and pianos providing the requisite background with gentle, forgettable notes. Nanaki really didn't understand the human concept of music and found almost all music intolerable. To him, nothing surpassed the rich sounds of nature. He grew restless and started pacing around the room, hoping Cid would get to the phone before he hung up out of frustration. Before long, Cid's harsh voice crackled through the speaker.

"Red, what the hell do you want?" His voice sounded angrier than usual.

"It's good to hear from you again Cid. I'm sorry if took you away from something important."

"You're damn right you did. I was conducting an important field test till that shitty excuse for a secretary told me you needed something. What's wrong? Dog catcher try to get you again?"

Nanaki sighed. He was already having second thoughts about asking him. "Cid, I…I…need…"

"Need what? Speak up goddammit, I don't got all day!"

He came this far, he might as well just come out and ask him. "I need you to tutor me in engineering," he forced himself to say. Silence lay heavily, interrupted occasionally by static. For once, Cid had nothing to say. The four-legged creature started pacing around the room again, nervous nervous about his response. Until he heard muffled sounds from over the speaker. _Is that giggling?_ "Cid, are you laughing at me?"

As if on cue, the pilot started roaring with laughter over the phone. "Oh man, are you serious!? Is this a prank call?" He said in between laughs. "I thought you were the genius of AVALANCHE! I've got to record this! Wait till the others hear about this!" That last scenario drove Cid into a fit and his laughter descended into a hyena cackle.

_Why did I even ask? I should have known this was the response I was going to get. _Shaking his head, Nanaki opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the door slamming open and Henry bursting in, panting and sweaty.

"Henry, what have I told you about slamming that door?" Nanaki chided out of habit.

Still sucking down mouthfuls of air, Henry shook his head, his eyes wide with wonder. "This is way more important that some stupid door! You'll never believe who's here!"

Henry turned his head to the phone, where Cid's laughter rang like an obnoxious klaxon. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"Never mind that," Nanaki said. He nudged the mute button on the phone, silencing Cid. "You said somebody was here?"

"Huh? Oh yeah!" The young man's eyes returning to their previous state. "It's unbelievable! Who would've thought we'd have a celebrity in these parts!"

"I thought you had a date."

"What? Yeah whatever, this is way more important than some chick. This is the legend himself, right here in Cosmo Canyon!"

"Who?" Nanaki asked, expecting some shallow star here for another photo op promoting their endorsement of environmental values.

"Cloud Strife!! The hero of the Jenova War is here! Oh man, I gotta get a camera-no wait, a notebook! Or maybe he'll let me fix up his bike! Or even ride it! That would be some crazy shit right there! Me riding Fenrir…awesome."

While Henry was busy chattering on about Cloud, Nanaki walked past him and out of the observatory. _Cloud, what are you doing here? Could it be you have actually found it? _He jumped from platform to platform, a red blur eager to find out the reason for his friends visit. He caught his scent, and let it lead him to the Cosmo Candle. A robed figure sat in front of the candle, unmoving like a stature. The scent was Cloud, but it just didn't _feel _like him. Nanaki felt almost hesitant in greeting the stranger.

"Cloud, is that you?

The figure came to life, straightening its posture at the sound of the red beast's salutation. It slowly stood up, as if it had been resting for hundreds of years, and was just now using its muscles to move. It turned around just as slowly, leaving Nanaki slightly apprehensive at this robed stranger's seeming reluctance to reveal itself. But anxiousness turned to relief as he saw familiar tufts of blond hair stick out from the hooded figure's face.

"Red XIII, it's been a while." And with that the man pulled back his hood.

Nanaki audibly gasped. While he recognized the face as that of his old friend, there were some stark changes. His hair was longer and even more unruly, if that was possible. He had neglected to shave, as his facial hair had run wild, making him seem older than he was. Most striking were his eyes. They were not the familiar shade of blue he was used to. They were _green._ Not just green, a vibrant green that reminded him of the

Lifestream.

However, there was one other thing that Nanaki noticed, something he felt Cloud should take care of right away.

"Cloud, I don't mean to be rude, but…you smell horrible."

Cloud's eyes widened. "What?"

Nanaki turned away. "I'm sorry, but it's true. When I first caught your scent, I wasn't sure because I couldn't believe you smelled this bad."

The blond man threw his head back and laughed. "I suppose I have been neglecting my personal hygiene." He smelled his sleeve. "To be honest, I don't even notice it."

Nanaki started pawing at the ground, feeling a little ashamed of himself. "Don't worry about it. So, what brings you here?"

Cloud's eyes gleamed. "What do you think?"

"I think you may have found what you were looking for."

Cloud tapped his nose. "Smart as always Red." He sat back down and patted the space in front of him. "Come on; let me tell you about it. Or are you busy right now?

Nanaki looked back at the observatory. _I should really get back to Cid. I've left him on the line for quite a while. Although…._

"Well, it would be impolite to refuse a friend's request. I would love to hear of your travels."

"Glad to hear it. I have to warn you though; it's kind of long."

The red creature grinned. "Don't worry; I have all the time in the world."

"Alright then." Cloud cleared his throat, and began a tale would change everything.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to my dear beta, Sylla, for actually making this readable.


End file.
